In a study, "High Fat Diet Increases NF- «B Signaling in the Prostate of Reporter Mice", released online today in the journal "The Prostate" (www3.interscience.wiley/journal/106561909/issue), Dr. Gupta and his team demonstrate that a high fat diet results in activation of NF- «B in the abdominal cavity, thymus, spleen, and prostate (Vykhovanets et al, The Prostate, 2010). Non obese NF- «B reporter mice were fed a high fat diet for four, eight, and 12 weeks. Compared with mice fed a regular diet, the high fat diet group had significant increases in prostate weight, and in the prostate expression of markers of oxidative stress (such as NADPH), and inflammation (such as the downstream targets of NF- «B: nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase [COX-2]) were increased. These studies provide direct evidence that a high fat diet causes proliferation, inflammation, and oxidative stress that can lead to benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, and cancer of the prostate, some of the most common disorders affecting adult men.

"Our studies provide evidence that a high-fat diet increases the activation of NF- «B along with elevated levels of NADPH oxidase components which might lead to intraprostatic inflammation. This study strengthens the link between a high-fat diet-typical of "Western style" high fat diet-as a potential cause of prostatic diseases including BPG and prostate cancer," said Dr. Gupta.

Source: Case Western Reserve University